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 Cameron says sorry for Bloody Sunday killings 6/15/2010 - 5:06:35 PM  British Prime Minister David Cameron apologised today for the “unjustified and unjustifiable” events of Bloody Sunday following the publication of Lord Saville’s inquiry into the killing of 14 civilians. In a Commons statement, he said the 5,000-page report found that “on balance” British troops fired the first shots during the “tragic events” in Derry in January 1972 without issuing a warning. He told MPs: “The conclusions of this report are absolutely clear. There is no doubt, there is nothing equivocal, there are no ambiguities. “What happened on Bloody Sunday was both unjustified and unjustifiable. It was wrong.” Mr Cameron told a hushed House of Commons: “Some members of our armed forces acted wrongly. The Government is ultimately responsible for the conduct of our armed forces and for that, on behalf of the Government – and indeed our country - I am deeply sorry.” Making his apology, Mr Cameron said: ``I know that some people wonder whether nearly 40 years on from an event a Prime Minister needs to issue an apology. “For someone of my generation, Bloody Sunday and the early 1970s are something we feel we have learned about rather than lived through. “But what happened should never, ever have happened. “The families of those who died should not have had to live with the pain and the hurt of that day and with a lifetime of loss. “Some members of our armed forces acted wrongly. The Government is ultimately responsible for the conduct of our armed forces and for that, on behalf of the Government – and indeed our country – I am deeply sorry.” Setting out the background to Bloody Sunday, Mr Cameron said 1972 was the “bloodiest year by far” in the Troubles, claiming the lives of nearly 500 people. But he said Bloody Sunday “was not the defining story of the service the British Army gave in Northern Ireland” and praised their “enormous courage and professionalism” during the 38-year military operation between 1969 and 2007. He also paid tribute to the campaign to uncover the truth mounted by the families of victims of Bloody Sunday. “Nothing can bring back those that were killed but I hope, as one relative has put it, the truth coming out can help set people free.” Mr Cameron said the report concluded there was no “conspiracy” involving senior military commanders and politicians and no evidence the events were “premeditated”. The Prime Minister said he hoped the report would allow communities to “come together to acknowledge our shared history, even where it divides us” and to “close this painful chapter on Northern Ireland’s troubled past”. The 12-year inquiry process, which cost almost £200m (€240m), has attracted widespread criticism. Mr Cameron told MPs: “There will be no more open-ended and costly inquiries into the past.” MPs will have a full day’s debate on the 10-volume report in the autumn, Mr Cameron announced. Acting Labour leader Harriet Harman said: “For the 14 families whose loved ones were killed, for the 13 injured, for the soldiers and their families, for all those whose lives would never be the same again, this report has been long-awaited.” |
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